Vitra considers furniture to be inextricably linked with architecture and space. And in this sense, the philosophy of the Swiss brand inherits the Bauhaus principles, according to which each individual object is created within the framework of a “total project” and contributes to the transformation of the environment.
The company's production campus in Vejle am Rhein represents the implementation of a long-term program of cooperation of the brand with the stars of world architecture and has earned a reputation as an "open-air museum of architecture". This unique place plays an important role in architectural education: literally every day hundreds of young professionals visit it to get acquainted with the masterpieces of architecture and design by world-class authors such as Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid and many others.
The book "Introduction to Architecture: Vitruvius" focuses on the Vitra campus as a whole, as well as on the project "Diogenes" by Renzo Piano. Diogenes develops the idea of minimal housing, which has occupied the Italian architect since his student years. The order principles, first formulated by the classic Vitruvius, are embodied in simple forms of construction.
The self-sufficient energy efficient house, which is supposed to be installed among the natural landscape and used as a place of solitude, is an aesthetic bridge that connects the architectural prototypes of Antiquity with advanced modern technologies. Published by the architect in 2009, the Diogenes project caught the attention of Vitra President Rolf Felbaum, and after several years of collaboration, it was presented to the public in 2013 as part of the campus's architectural ensemble.
Publishing project
"Introduction to Architecture: Vitruvius" consists of 6 illustrated books. The author of the series, Leo Razzhivin, who is called "literary Banksy", invites the reader to reconsider from a modern point of view the ideas of the ancient architect and encyclopedist Vitruvius, who created the first scientific work on architecture known in the history of mankind.
The presentation of the project will take place on October 15 at the Educational Center
Museum Garage as part of an open discussion on the problems of contemporary architectural education. The discussion is designed to form an idea of how the realities of modern life affect classical architectural education, what changes await it in the near future, and also to draw up a portrait of modern creators of the cities of the future.
Participating in the discussion:
Erwin Gugerell, Head of Representative Office Vitra International AG;
Vadim Kondrashev, architect, founder of the Archido architectural bureau;
Oksana Vinichenko, content editor, curator of the book "Introduction to Architecture: Vitruvius", Archido bureau;
Inna German, editor-in-chief of the educational portal "Theory and Practice";
Vladimir Chichirin, Marketing Director of RIPOL - Classic Publishing House;
Anna Bronovitskaya, candidate of art history, associate professor of Moscow Architectural Institute, journalist.
Discussion moderator - Anna Stavrova, co-owner of Concorde Gallery, founder of Sreda Identity agency.
The Vitra brand, which has an extensive practice of cooperation with educational, cultural and art institutions around the world, is a partner of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. The minimalist library space of the new museum building designed by Rem Koolhaas, which opened this summer, features objects from the Vitra collection - the Eames Plastic Side Chair and Folding Screen screens of the key figures of American modernism Charles and Ray Eames, as well as the Prismatic Table tables by the American sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi of Japanese origin.
Discussion "Architecture and modern education":
October 15, 2015, Thursday, 19:30 - 20:30
Garage Education Center
Free admission
Pre-registration is required
